8. Ishtar (1987)

Budget: $55,000,000 North American Box Office: $14,375,181

If you were to look up bomb in the dictionary, chances are there would be a picture of Ishtar. One of the most infamous failures in Hollywood history came about when the brilliant yet prickly Elaine May decided to make a modern day version of a Hope/Crosby comedy with Warren Beatty and Dustin Hoffman. The shoot extended endlessly and the budget grew to numbers that were astronomical at the time. The final film is uneven, but pretty brilliant for at least the first hour.

The trouble is that in order to appreciate it you had to be into so-bad-its-funny musical numbers (a little too ironic for the irony challenged 80s) and recognize all the references to old Hollywood buddy comedies that were long out of fashion. The movie failed so mightily that Beatty voluntarily disappeared for three years and May was never allowed to direct again. The fact that Ishtar has aged better than most of the actual hits of 1987 makes little difference now. It’s such a famous failure, that’s all anyone will ever remember.